Library of Congress Staff News

Robert Dizard Appointed Chief of Staff

Robert Dizard Jr., senior adviser to the Librarian of Congress, has been appointed chief of staff. The chief of staff will serve on the Library’s Executive Committee. In addition to Library-wide program and management responsibilities, the chief of staff will also be responsible for the Congressional Relations Office; the Office of the Chief Financial Officer; the Office of Communications; the Office of the General Counsel; the Development Office; and the Office of Special Events and Public Programs.

Dizard served as deputy associate librarian for Library Services from May 2004 to May 2009. From May 2000 to May 2004 he served as staff director and chief operating officer of the U.S. Copyright Office. In both positions he was directly responsible for a wide range of program and operational matters involving two of the largest Library service units. He has also served in the Congressional Relations Office, including a year as acting director.

Since assuming his current position as senior adviser to the Librarian in May 2009, Dizard has been responsible for managing the Librarian’s Management Agenda, issued in July 2009, which includes a mid-course updating of the Library’s strategic plan and the completion of Library-wide documents defining future needs and actions in areas including human resources and facilities. The Management Agenda has also refined and strengthened the Library’s information-technology governance and investment-management processes.

Dizard graduated from the State University of New York at Albany with a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science and received a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University. Prior to joining the Library, he served for eight years as chief of staff to his hometown congressman, Guy V. Molinari of New York.

David Mao Tapped as Deputy Law Librarian

David S. Mao, head of the American Law Consulting Section in the Library’s Congressional Research Service, has been appointed to the newly created position of Deputy Law Librarian of Congress. The Deputy Law Librarian will serve as a key member of the Law Library’s leadership team and will manage the Law Library’s global legal research portfolio, including the Global Legal Information Network (GLIN).

A magna cum laude graduate of the George Washington University and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Mao majored in international affairs with a minor in Chinese language and literature. After earning his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center, Mao was in private practice for several years before returning to graduate school to pursue a master’s degree in library science at the Catholic University of America.

Before joining the Library’s Congressional Research Service in 2005, Mao held positions at the Georgetown University Law Library and within the research library of the international law firm of Covington and Burling LLP. He also was an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Mao is the treasurer of the American Association of Law Libraries and a member of its executive board. He is also treasurer and a board member of the recently incorporated Chinese and American Forum on Legal Information and Law Libraries, of which he is a founding member.

A member of the American Bar Association, David Mao is admitted to the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey bars.

Lucy Suddreth Named Chief of Support Operations

Lucy D. Suddreth has been
appointed chief of support operations for the Library of Congress. Suddreth currently serves as assistant chief operating officer for support operations. Her new position will involve similar duties. She will be responsible for supervising the directors of Human Resources; Integrated Support Services; the Office of Opportunity, Inclusiveness and Compliance; Contracts and Grants Management; and Security and Emergency Preparedness. As chief, she will report directly to the Librarian and serve on the Library’s Executive Committee.

Suddreth began her service at the Library in 1990. She has served as assistant chief operating officer since 2007. From 1996 to 2007 she served as special assistant to the deputy librarian and later to the chief operating officer. From 2003 to 2004 she also served as acting director, Operations Management and Training. She worked in the Congressional Relations Office as a congressional relations specialist from 1994 to 1996.

Suddreth received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Bennett College and a master’s degree in international relations from The American University.